Harmonious Lands Book I
by Lady Starwing
Summary: Three worlds, tied together by fate. And to think that if Ninian hadn't come through the Otherworldly Gate, the Symphonia group wouldn't have known the third world she came from existed in the first place ... at least, most of them wouldn't ...
1. A New Arrival

**HARMONIOUS LANDS BOOK ONE: SYMPHONIA**

**ONE: A NEW ARRIVAL**

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* * *

Come, approach me, children,  
Gather round as I speak and listen._

_This world was once home to three lands of old,  
Each one with its own unique wells of gold._

_A land of islands and elven grace,  
The far-spanning land of the mortal race,_

_The final one blessed with the dragons wise,  
And yet everything has its demise._

_For eons ago, with humans still young,  
The dragons and their home faded from story and song …_

* * *

There was a full moon out this night, and Kratos sighed as he neared the Otherworldly Gate, wondering why he had wandered out in this direction in the first place. He had no real reason to be here, after all; Lloyd and his friends were trying to fetch inhibitor ore for one of their friends the last he had heard of them. That meant that they were probably scouring every mine that they could find to locate the ore. With a heavy sigh, Kratos leaned on one of the stone towers, staring up at the moon. His eyebrows rose slightly when he noticed the faint glow around the moon. "Is it glowing merely because of the Gate?" He asked himself, and turned to look.

While the gate was opening, the aura that was swirling around it wasn't the same colors that it usually was; burning red flickered and danced inside a vortex of sapphire and emerald, and Kratos was certain that he could hear something roaring down deep within the depths of the lights. A hand flying to rest on Flamberge's hilt, the seraph braced himself for an attack …

And was startled when a young woman, who appeared to be somewhere in her late teens to early twenties, dropped onto the ground, a long object wrapped in red and royal blue fabric clanging to the stone ground beside her. Both her clothes and her hair were torn and tattered, revealing cuts and wounds that, although they weren't fatal, were still rather painful to look at. Kratos relaxed his hand on Flamberge and walked over to the girl, first feeling around for a pulse.

She moaned when he moved her, whoever she was. "Good; she's still alive." Kratos murmured, slowly shifting to scoop the girl up into his arms, startled at how light she was. "She will need food once she wakes up, that's for certain." He told himself, turning to leave when he caught sight of the long bundle of fabric that had come through the now closing gate behind them. "What is this …?" he asked himself, shifting his grip so that he could pick up the bundle with one hand.

The instant his hand touched the royal blue fabric, it was consumed by a flurry of golden red flames. Letting out a startled shout, Kratos pulled what he could of the fabric away, the flames dying as soon as they were pulled away from what laid beneath the fabric, burned edges fluttering in the breeze as Kratos stared at what laid before him. A silvered broadsword laid in front of him, a small sapphire sphere mounted in the center of the cross guard. It was elegant in a simple way …

Pushing the thought aside, Kratos grasped the hilt of the sword, as if to pick it up, when he felt everything else around him vanish as screams, fire, and other people surrounded him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the woman that he was supposed to be carrying near a large gateway flanked by dragons, seemingly stunned while a young man with flame red hair raced towards her, wrapping the sword in a _cape_ of all things, and shoved it into her arms.

"GET THROUGH THE GATE, NINIAN! GET –" The man's words were cut off as a javelin of dark energy shot through his heart. As Kratos watched, however, the younger male used what little strength he had to shove the girl through the gateway behind her before falling forward, already dead as screams of terror and a deep, horrible laugh filled the air …

…

…

…

"**Sir, are you alright?"** Kratos groaned as the female voice woke him, a hand going to his head. Blinking, he saw that the evening sky had vanished, only to be replaced by mid morning sunlight. The young woman who he had rescued was leaning over him, and Kratos was startled to see that her eyes were even redder than his, ice blue hair falling in ragged layers past her face. Seeing that he was awake, she sighed and smiled weakly. **"I saw that you weren't moving when I woke up, and I grew worried …"** Kratos nodded in understanding as he sat up and looked at her.

"I can assure you, miss, that I'm fine." He reassured her, only to blink in shock as she stared at him blankly. Then his brain fully woke up again from its half dazed state; she had spoken a very old language, and she spoke it so fluently with no accent … Wracking his brains, Kratos searched for the part of him that knew the language, and after a few moments of struggle, asked, **"Is there a reason that you're speaking like this?"**

"**Your accent is atrocious." **The girl said simply, making Kratos wince in spite of himself. Ruby red eyes glanced to one side as she turned to look out over the open ocean that extended beyond the island. **"… Where am I? This isn't the Dread Isle anymore …" **Kratos stared at her again; he had thought she was from Sylvarant, perhaps a street performer by the look of what was left of her clothes. But he knew for a fact that there was no place called the "Dread Isle" on Sylvarant … or on Tethe'alla for that matter. Could this girl possibly mean …?

"… **What is your name?" **Kratos asked her, hoping that his accent wasn't so atrocious that she couldn't understand what he was asking her. Admittedly, she had understood what he had first said to her, but the look on her face when he had spoken said that he was a tad out of practice with speaking in this language, not to mention that he probably used words that she wasn't familiar with. The girl looked at him for a long moment, and Kratos almost feared that she hadn't understood him before she sighed.

"**Ninian Eira." **She said simply, looking at the tattered edges of her clothes in irritation. **"How did my clothes get torn up? This never happened the other times I went through the Gate."** Kratos looked at the girl's clothes for the first time, and noticed with a grimace that they were tattered and torn beyond repair, and there was blood splashed up onto the pale seafoam colored fabric.

"**We'll have to get you new clothes. Hold on … I think have spares." **Ninian stared at Kratos as he spoke and turned around to grab his wing pack and dug around inside it until he pulled out a plain shirt and a pair of pants. After looking at Ninian again, Kratos returned his attention to the bag and pulled out a belt as well. Handing Ninian the bundle, he pointed at the stone statues around them. **"Go change … nobody lives here." **

Ninian stared at him for a moment, and then quickly retreated to the farther side of the stone ring, leaving Kratos standing there, contemplating the turn of events. 'She fell through the Otherworldly Gate, and speaks a language that the rest of the world has never heard before. Could she be from …' Kratos' thoughts were cut off, and he shook his head. "No, that is impossible, _that_ Gate does not connect to here anymore. Aenir made certain of that …" Sighing and shaking his head again, Kratos suddenly remembered the sword that had been there when Ninian had arrived.

Looking around for it, Kratos' eyes snagged onto it, but his jaw dropped. Somehow, the sword had transformed its shape since he had last looked at it, and it was now even plainer than before, looking at first glance like the average longsword. If it weren't for the fact that the same round sapphire was still in the hilt, he wouldn't have recognized it. "How on earth …?" Kratos wondered aloud, thoroughly puzzled by everything.

"**Excuse me, sir … is something wrong?" **Ninian called out, making Kratos turned to face her. The moment he locked his eyes on the girl, Kratos knew he would have to get her clothes before anything else. A girl who was barely five-foot-seven and thin was not meant to be wearing his clothes. And her hair looked even worse out in the sunlight, making Kratos sigh and beckon her towards him.

"**Let me fix your hair; it looks horribly burnt." ** He stated simply, Ninian eyeing him warily for a moment before approaching him and sitting down. Kneeling, Kratos took out a small dagger and began to look around for the shortest bit of bunt hair; he would try and keep the hair the same length, but he was no expert at this … Finally finding the shortest bit to be next to her ear, he began to cut away. **"What on earth happened to you?" **He asked after a few quiet moments, staring at the charred ice blue strands that fell around the two of them.

Ninian looked around them both, quiet. Kratos wondered if he had asked the wrong question, and was about to apologize when she spoke up. **"My friends and I ... we were battling three fire dragons, and I ... I got hit by a flame burst. It was then that ... the one who had called the dragons, he reappeared and ..." **Ninian's hands grasped the edge of the overly large shirt she was wearing in tight fists. **"He came and tried to attack me, but my friend got in the way. He took the attack for me, shoving me through the gateway, handing me his sword as he did so." **A tear fell from her face to land on the ground beside her, and she reached up hastily to wipe her eyes. **"It cost him his life …"**

Kratos didn't say anything, partially because he was concentrating on trimming what was left of Ninian's hair, partially out of respect for her. He had witnessed the scene that she described when he had first grasped the sword, but hearing it explained at least made a little more sense. **" … I am sorry." **He said simply after a moment, trimming the last burnt edge of hair and pulled back to look at his handy work. Thankfully, the edge was even, just barely brushing Ninian's shoulders. **"There. It's done." **Standing up, Kratos brushed aside the strands of burnt hair that still stuck to him, and Ninian stood as well, feeling the strands with a timid hand.

**"Thank you, mister …???" **Ninian paused and gave Kratos a very confused look. **"Did you ever say your name? If you did, I don't remember it …" **Kratos coughed in embarrassment, and looked away, mentally chastising himself for never once saying who he was.

**"My name is Kratos Aurion." **He nodded, returning the dagger he had used to its scabbard. Kneeling, he picked up his wing pack and began to look through it again, looking for his Rheaird. **"Grab the sword, we're going to go find you some new clothes. It wouldn't be decent for you to wander about dressed in my spares." **Ninian blinked, her mind still processing Kratos' last name; wasn't Aurion the name of …? Snapping out of it when she realized that he had told her to grab Durandal, she turned and went to grasp the sword where she knew it was, and stopped. Durandal had changed somehow, but she still knew it was the same sword Eliwood had shoved into her arms as he pushed her to safety.

Gingerly, she reached down and grasped the blade with both hands, shivering as she felt cold fire race up her arms. Half fearing that the sword would burn her hands, she went to drop it when she instead heard a soft voice in her head. _'I art thine who hath been born through thou grief. I art Ausendal, Sword of Sorrows …' _Blinking, Ninian stared at the sword in shock, wondering where the voice had come from.

A moment later, Kratos' hand reappeared in her line of vision, a belt with a scabbard on it grasped in his fist. **"We'll have to get you a sheath for that as well." **He stated simply as Ninian blinked at it. **"It won't be good for you to walk around with a bare sword like that, some fool might attempt to steal it." **Ninian nodded in understanding after a moment, taking the belt and strapping it across her chest. After some struggling, she managed to get Ausendal to slide into the scabbard. Kratos looked her over, and then nodded. **"Alright, let's get going then." **Taking a hold of Ninian's upper arm, he steered her towards the Rheaird.

Ninian stared at the Rheaird in utter shock. **"What is that? It looks almost like a small dragon …" **She asked, looking up at Kratos with worried eyes. **"What's it doing here?" **

"**It's called a Rheaird. People on this world use them to fly with."** Kratos explained paitently.

"**It looks like it'll tip over the instant you touch it."**

"**If that does happen, then we'll fall into the ocean and perish."**

"**Well aren't you cheerful." **The sarcasm in Ninian's voice was clearly obvious, making Kratos roll his eyes at her as he pulled her onto the Rheaird behind him and started up the engine. Ninian let out a mild yelp and clung tightly to Kratos, staring with wide eyes as the ground dropped away from beneath them, Kratos turning the Rheaird towards Altamira.** "Please tell me that the person who designed this thing was killed quickly …" **Ninian pleaded as she buried her face into Kratos' back.

Kratos sighed and shook his head. This was going to be a long trip … Curse his fate.

* * *

_And there's the revised chapter. ^^ I don't know about the rest of you, but I prefer this version so much better … if only because the logic flows better or because of the fact that I finally realized that it would make more sense that Ninian couldn't speak with anyone else because she doesn't know the language. XD _

_And as for how Kratos knows it … that'll be explained later on …_

_Review, please~_


	2. Word is Spread

**Chapter Two: Word is Spread **

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(Welgaia …)_

"Lord Yggdrasil, there has been a disturbance at the Otherworldly Gate." Mithos Yggdrasil looked up from the book he was reading as Pronyma approached him. Arching an eyebrow at the Grand Cardinal, the blond seraph nodded for her to continue. Nervous, Pronyma continued on with, "When I went to check on it personally, I found Lord Kratos there with a strange young woman … she looked foreign, whoever she was."

"What do you mean foreign?" Yggdrasil asked mildly, although a small part of his mind was alert with nervousness; the last time some strange woman had been accompanying Kratos, the foolish angel had run off with her and copulated, which was the source of all their problems currently.

"She did not look like she was either Tethe'allan or Sylvaranti." Pronyma explained after a moment. "And she spoke in a very unusual language, but Lord Kratos seemed to be understand her … in fact, he was talking back to her in the same language. I couldn't understand a word of what either of them were saying …" The comment about the language made Yggdrasil's eyebrows shoot up, and he slowly placed the book aside.

"Do you happen to have a projection of her saved?" He asked, standing up and hovering over towards the projector's main computer. After an uneasy moment, Pronyma came over and entered the data section of the magic lens into the slot provided for it. Instantly, an image of Ninian appeared on the screen, frozen and still as Yggdrasil looked her over, examining her image from head to toe. "Is this … oh, no, this girl has both of her arms." He thought aloud, reaching out a hand and running it through the projection's left arm. "But the resemblance is otherwise uncanny … almost as uncanny as the resemblance Kratos' bastard bears to his father." He smirked and began to tap his fingers together. "And if I am right … that girl will prove very useful indeed …"

Turning to Pronyma, he nodded, face stern. "Very well. Pursue Kratos and the girl who travels with him." He ordered. "If Kratos is doing something else that is related to his orders, then leave him be, but the girl must come up here to Welgaia." Pronyma nodded in understanding, teleporting out of the room in a burst of dark magic. Once she was gone, Yggdrasil laughed to himself and turned back to face the projection, running a finger down Ninian's cheek. "My my my … it seems as though we have an Eliben dragon in our midst …" A smirk crossed his face. "Let us see what benefits can come of this."

* * *

_(Altamira …)  
_**"Kratos, this is too expensive!" **

"**It fits and it suits you."**

"**It's still far too expensive! I can't …!"**

"**It's nothing! I make more than enough with my earnings as a mercenary." **

"**What about your personal expenses?"**

"**I've got enough money for that as well!" ** The store clerk that was witnessing the argument sweatdropped and looked helplessly between the two in front of her; it was only made worse by the fact that she couldn't understand a word of what was being said. All that she knew was that the two in front of her were irate with one another, and neither of them were going to back down. Kratos gave Ninian a serious look, to which she glared back at him. **"It's either this or you continue to wear my spares. Money is not an issue with me." **He stated again, to which Ninian huffed and crossed her arms.

"**If you're just saying this to placate me, I'm going to have to hurt you." **She stated after a moment, going back to the changing room to get into the spares. Kratos rolled his eyes at her behavior; this stubbornness was definitely familiar …

"Ummmm, sir?" the clerk asked, making him turn. "Is there something wrong?" She gave him a look, to which Kratos shook his head and sighed; like he had expected, Ninian's inability to understand what was being said to her was going to be a major handicap if he left her on her own. That meant he would have to drag her along with him, and if that happened to include taking her up to Cruxis …

'If I do that and Aenir finds out, she will castrate me …' Kratos thought to himself, and then said aloud. "Everything's find; she is a linguist, however, so she speaks in whatever language she is learning so that she has it memorized." He explained, knowing that it was more than likely the most logical explanation he could come up with. Thankfully, the salesperson nodded in what he hoped was understanding, and she waited patiently as Ninian came out, the new clothes in hand. As the clerk rung them up, Kratos told Ninian calmly, **"After this we'll have to retire for the night. The hotel shouldn't be too much of an issue to handle."**

"**Isn't the hotel nearly 700 gold a night?" **Ninian asked weakly, shifting the belt that held Ausendal so that it rested more comfortably between her breasts. They had managed to find a scabbard for the longsword rather quickly, and as an afterthought, Ninian had wrapped bandages around the blue sapphire in the middle, so now it looked so plain that only a desperate fool would try to steal the weapon off her back.

Kratos shrugged as he paid for the clothing.** "It is, but I have some connections. And like I said …" **Lifting up the pack he stored his Gald in, the Seraph arched an eyebrow. **"Money is not an issue with me; I have been a mercenary a long time." **While Ninian stared at him, jaw gaping, he lifted up the bag with her clothes in them and shoved them into her hands. **"Your clothes, you carry them." **He stated simply as they left, nodding to the obviously confused clerk as they left the store and headed off to the Altamira Hotel as the city slowly prepared for the night life.

Ninian looked all around her as she walked, occasionally having to jog to keep pace with Kratos as the tall man continued to walk. This city – which Kratos had called Altamira – was like no other city she had seen before, but that could merely be attributed to simply living on Elibe and in Paradise her entire life. Spinning around, she stared in awe as the Altamira Express zoomed by, people laughing and talking to one another as they headed off towards the casino and the theatre.

Kratos stopped when he noticed that Ninian wasn't behind him. Sighing in exasperation, he stalked back to where she stood, transfixed as the monorail passed by again. Kratos stared at her blankly for a moment before grabbing her under the armpit and hauled her along behind him. **"Don't stop and gawk; you'll prompt people to speak to you, and you're utterly defenseless against anything that they might say to you."** He stated gruffly when Ninian protested to the rough treatment, somehow managing not to trip as she jogged to keep up with Kratos' long stride. **"I don't want to be getting into trouble because someone took offense to you telling them 'good evening'."** Kratos finished, letting her go as they neared the hotel.

Ninian rolled her eyes at Kratos behind his back, thinking **'Paranoid much?'** When the door slid open before them, she quickly followed Kratos inside, looking around nervously as a small group of people stopped and whispered, glancing at Ninian and Kratos as the mercenary managed to get them one of the few rooms left for rent. No doubt that they found the two of them strange looking, or perhaps it was something about Ninian herself that stood out as odd against the rest of the people present.

Kratos didn't leave her too much time to ponder this, as he turned to her and nodded at the elevator. **"Let's go; gossip is only good as entertainment with those who have no more brains then you could chase a butterfly with." **He commented drolly, making Ninian duck her head to hide a laugh as she followed him, thankful that a sharp look from Kratos managed to silence those that were gossiping. The elevator ride was blissfully quiet, and when the two reached the floor that their room was on, nobody else save for a pair of maids were on the landing, allowing them to quietly get into the room.

Once inside, Ninian hurried into the bathroom and began to change into her new clothes, Kratos dropping into one of the poufy armchairs that littered the room. There was a pair of beds - thankfully - so that was one issue that Kratos didn't have to stress himself out over. But he was rather out of practice with traveling solely with a female he was not romantically involved with. Colette, Sheena and Raine (definitely Raine) were not counted as they had also been with Lloyd and Genis. Martel was not only engaged to Yuan, but she and Kratos truly didn't mesh personality wise, and – he truly meant no offense to Martel when he thought this – she was a little too frail for his personal tastes. She had been a great friend, yes, but he couldn't see himself being romantically involved with her.

And then there was Aenir … Kratos pondered for a moment, and shook his head; thinking about Aenir like that confused him to no end, and that was that. 'Besides, unless I'm imagining things … Ninian is related to her in some way.' He thought to himself, running a hand around his Cruxis Crystal. Sighing heavily, he closed his eyes, attempting to meditate when he slowly fell asleep instead, utterly exhausted.

Ninian re-entered the room a moment later, Kratos' clothes folded up over her arm, although she kept the violet and white belt he had given her to use with her sword. Placing the clothes on the spare bed, she glanced over at Kratos and was amused to find him dead asleep in his chair. **'Why's he so tired today?'** She wondered to herself, a hand digging around in the pocket on her newly purchased jacket. **'But now I wonder … how does he know the language I'm used to speaking so fluently?'** The nagging sensation that had come from the back of Ninian's mind resurfaced as she looked Kratos over, sitting on the bed and staring at him.

Immediately, she could tell why some women stopped and stared at him when he went by; his clothing left very little to the imagination. Apart from that, Ninian found that Kratos was more intimidating that attractive, and something about him reminded her of Jaffar, a comrade from back on Elibe. **'Perhaps it's simply the hair and eyes; they're the same color …' **Ninian told herself, but then stared more. **"Then again, he does look slightly Sacaen … and more than likely has the pride of one." **A memory from earlier, when Ninian had begun to poke fun at Kratos' accent shortly before they reached Altamira, he had acted like an offended cat. Most of the Sacaen born people that Ninian had met acted like an offended cat when they were on their dignity, and the memories of an offended Lyn arguing with Hector now served to make Ninian laugh.

But the longer she thought about her old friends, the more pain she felt about the whole ordeal. Finally, the last memory she had of Eliwood flashed in her mind's eye, and she whimpered, curling into a small ball as she began to cry. **"If I hadn't come through the Gate … Lord Eliwood wouldn't be … Oh …" **Wiping away the tears that were starting to run down her face, Ninian found herself reflecting more on the times she and the others had shared. It hurt greatly, and soon she found herself desperately trying to smother sobs.

Kratos' hand on her head made Ninian look up after a while, tears still rolling down her face. Kratos gave her a quiet look before handing her a tissue, letting her wipe her face. **"… I know what it feels like, to lose those that are most precious to you." **He whispered, rubbing Ninian's back as she sobbed softly, still trying to recover from her memories. Kratos let her cry, wishing that he was physically able to cry from all that he had lost as well. **"The one you lost … he was most precious. I'm certain of it."**

"**He … he loved me … And … And I … I …" **Ninian managed to force out through her sobs, although they weren't falling as rapidly as before. Kratos, sensing that she was close to a breakdown, sat beside her and tentatively wrapped an arm around her shoulders; Ninian must have noticed, because she was once again trying to calm herself. **"I … if I had never met him, he would still be alive … He could be happy with his life …" **Kratos involuntarily let his grip on Ninian's shoulder increase, a sharp pain as a memory of Anna flashed through his mind. He had felt the same way about her so many times … about how happy she might have been if he hadn't fallen in love with her … But when such thoughts did emerge, the sensible half of his mind surfaced and pointed out that the time he had spent with Anna – and Lloyd, after his birth – were the happiest moments of _his_ life as well.

Sighing, Kratos knew that if he remained silent, Ninian might go quiet earlier, but his mind and mouth disconnected for the first time in ages. **"I … know that guilt." **He began, deciding not to fight the urge to let Ninian know that he understood her pain. **"I … lost my wife, nearly fifteen years ago now. She had been cursed, and had turned into a monster … I can't help but wonder how happy she would have been if I hadn't met her. But …"**

"**But …?" **Ninian asked softly, prodding Kratos into continuing. She could just barely see the flickers of pain that laid buried beneath a blasé face, the look making the stoic man look more pensive. Kratos gave Ninian a long look, wondering if it was a good idea to tell Ninian any more of his story. He wasn't fully certain that he would be able to finish the story without his heart cracking in two as he did so. But even as the thought crossed his mind, his traitorous mouth continued to move.

"**But … then I can't help but remember how happy she was when we were together. Even though she was in danger often, I knew that she was happiest with me, no matter what." **Kratos sighed and then looked at Ninian; she seemed to be close to passing out. **"Get some sleep; we'll head out tomorrow morning." **Ninian nodded and yawned before suddenly hugging Kratos, ignoring how stiff he immediately became. It didn't matter much, however, because she let go after a few seconds and crawled under the blankets, her jacket falling off her shoulders immediately. As the blue and red cloth hit the ground, a small, sapphire colored stone the size of an Exsphere rolled out of a pocket, catching Kratos' attention.

Cautiously, he reached forward with his left hand to pick it up, but stopped when a dark blue glow began to surround both his Cruxis Crystal and the stone on the ground. Quickly drawing his hand back, Kratos sighed and gently grabbed it with his right hand and returned it to Ninian's pocket before wandering over to the window. 'This is going to be dangerous … Mithos probably already knows that Ninian's here … But now I wonder about what is happening over on Elibe …'

* * *

_(With Lloyd's group …)_  
Lloyd Irving sat up around his sleeping companions outside of the Toize Valley mine, his wine red eyes darting around the area as he remained wary for any danger that might approach them in spite of the fire that burned behind him. Normally at this point in time, he would wake Zelos or maybe even Raine to take over the watch detail, having been up since sunset to keep guard over his sleeping friends, but he was wide awake for some strange reason. He'd needed less and less sleep as time went on, Lloyd suddenly realized, but shrugged the thought off. 'I must be getting used to this whole night watch thing.' Lloyd told himself, looking to the west again just as a flicker of white and black danced in the corner of his eye.

Turning to look, Lloyd blinked and stifled a gasp as a black barn owl hovered a few feet in front of him, its haunting dark eyes locked with his. Lloyd stiffened slightly, unable to look away as the owl flew closer, making no sound in its approach. When it was within an inch or so of Lloyd's face, the barn owl stopped, and Lloyd extended an arm. He didn't know what was going on in his mind, but something told him to do it as the barn owl folded its wings and landed on the offered arm, shifting for a moment before regarding him with a strange aura surrounding it.

'_You will do, son of angels.' _A woman's voice rang in Lloyd's head a split second before the owl dug its eight talons into the flesh of his arm, somehow bypassing the red leather jacket that he wore to protect himself from such injuries. Biting his lip to stop himself from shouting, Lloyd shook the owl off of him in time to feel a strange feeling seep through his veins. _'You will do quite nicely as my vassal, son of angels …'_ The voice whispered in Lloyd's head again, making him look up and stare as he undid the buttons on his jacket and pulled his right arm out of the sleeve just enough to look at the talon marks that the owl had given him. When he saw that there was nobody there, he shrugged and examined his arm.

The marks were there, alright, but they didn't hurt, the eight punctures racing around his entire arm in two bands of four dots. As Lloyd watched, blood flowed between all the dots to form a strange band on his skin, darkening to a deep blood red and black color. The sight of it made Lloyd shudder, and he decided that it would be best if he went to bed. Rising, he shook Zelos awake for watch, and ignoring the redhead's comment about a wonderful dream with many voluptuous hunnies, fell asleep, although the woman's voice rang in his head again.

'_Don't try to run from fate, dear boy. No matter what you do, you and your friends will be drawn into this struggle; it involves the fate of the worlds, after all. When the next day dawns, you will meet the girl from the Veiled World, and your quest shall truly begin …'_

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_Eh heh heh ... if you've read my other stories, you'll most likely know who's fiddling around with Lloyd's head there ... ^^; I hope this chapter was an entertaining read, and it's helping to set up the plot ..._

_review, please~_


	3. Meeting in the Mines

**Chapter Three: Meeting in the Mines**

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Ninian yawned as she woke up the next morning, nuzzling deeper into the pillow beneath her head. She knew where she was, of course, but she was not in the mood to get out of bed yet, it was just too comfortable … Of course, Kratos had other plans, and he was currently trying to get Ninian awake and out of bed. **"It's too bloody early …" **She mumbled, pulling the duvet back up over her head and burying her face into the pillow. Kratos scowled at her sleeping form, shaking her shoulder again. **"No … five more minutes …" **

Kratos stared at her, exasperated, before grabbing the duvet with both hands and yanking it off of the bed. Ninian reacted instinctively, whimpering and clutching her pillow as she tried to get the blanket back. **"Wake up, or I'll find something slimy to put down the back of your shirt." **He growled, knowing very well that ice was out of the question with Ninian.

It seemed the sheer mention of such a threat was enough to wake Ninian, however, as she sat up groggily and stared at Kratos in an accusing manner, ice blue hair sticking up every which way. The glare didn't leave her face even when Kratos offered her food, and she ate quietly while Kratos explained, **"We should head out as soon as possible; it isn't wise for me to remain in one place for long, and I cannot leave you on your own."**

"**I think that people here are smart enough to understand I'm foreign when I don't speak the same language." **Ninian pointed out through a mouthful of food, but fell silent and swallowed when Kratos gave her a reprimanding stare. **"It is true though …"**

"**That is not my primary concern; I still don't know how well you can defend yourself against an attacker." **Kratos pointed out, to which Ninian made a faint 'oh' noise and continued eating. **"While I won't force you to master swordplay, it would be best if you at least knew how to use that weapon across your back." **Pointing at Ausendal, Kratos watched with interest as Ninian stared at it, blinked, and then gave a sigh that sounded somewhere between acceptance and sorrow. Waiting until she had finished eating, Kratos stood up and walked over to the window again, staring out at the city of Altamira as street vendors began to open up food sales. It was a peaceful sight, one that made him want to smile, but he knew that things weren't as peaceful as they seemed.

"**Is something wrong, Kratos?" **Ninian came up to stand by Kratos, adjusting the belt that held Ausendal as she did so. Kratos started, turning to look at her, but in the end shook his head and looked her over; she was still thin for her height, but at least she ate what he had given her. When she noticed the way he was staring, Ninian blushed and looked away from Kratos. **"I … is something wrong?" **

"**You just seem thin for your height, that's all." **Kratos reassured her, squeezing her shoulder as he picked up a pack and slung it over his shoulder. **"Let's get going then." **Ninian bent to pick up her own pack and followed behind, once again jogging to keep up with his long stride. As they left Altamira, Kratos turned to her. **"An odd stone fell out of your pocket last night; what is it?" **He asked, making Ninian stare at him and almost trip as she tried to stammer out an excuse. **"It is a Dragonstone, isn't it?" **He asked, cutting her off. Ninian paused for a moment, but nodded slowly once she knew lying would be a stupid idea. Kratos sensed her unease and shook his head. **"Don't be upset; one of my closest friends is similar to you. I won't tell what you are." **

Ninian nodded, looking away from Kratos as she pulled her Dragonstone from her pocket. **"It looks like the stone you have on your hand." **She stated, looking at the Cruxis Crystal on the elder's hand with a raised eyebrow. Kratos didn't respond at first, but he shrugged and looked at the Dragonstone that rested in the center of Ninian's palm.

It had been hard to tell the night before, but now that Kratos was seeing it out in the sunlight, he could tell that the Dragonstone was not accustomed to so much mana in the air. If Ninian tried to use it at all while it was like this, it would be disastrous, perhaps almost as bad as if she was wearing a Key Crestless Exsphere. Stopping, he grabbed it out of Ninian's hand, ignoring both the yelp from her and the bright flash from his Cruxis Crystal. Bringing the sapphire colored stone up to his face, Kratos muttered a curse under his breath. **"So much for training; we have to get something to control this thing's power output, elsewise any angel from here to Niflheim will track us through it once they know we're the source of the aura." **

"**Angels? Why do you have angels chasing after you?" **Ninian asked, startled. Kratos looked at her, contemplating whether or not he should tell her, but shook his head and pulled out the Rheaird. Ninian groaned at the sight of it. **"Do we **_**have**_** to use that thing again?"** She pleaded, only to yelp as Kratos tugged her onto the Rheaird behind him, his hand shoving the Dragonstone back into her pocket. **"Whoever designed this mad form of travel should be killed!" **She shouted in defiance before burying her face in Kratos' back, nails digging into his arm as they flew off into the sky towards the Toize mine.

It didn't take the pair long to reach the mines, despite Ninian's constant moaning of not feeling well. Kratos bit his lip to keep from yelling at her; she wasn't used to this sort of thing, clearly, and if she _did_ come from Elibe, part of her discomfort might be from the amount of mana in the air around them all. 'Hopefully restraining the Dragonstone would help. It's just irritating that restraining a Dragonstone takes so much inhibitor ore ...' He thought to himself, landing the Rheaird on the outskirts of the mine. When Ninian jumped off and sank into the grass, depositing her half-digested breakfast into the grass, he winced and rubbed her back. **"I keep forgetting that I'm not traveling alone anymore. I'm sorry." **He apologized, to which Ninian gave him a nod as she dug around for a canteen.

Rinsing out her mouth, Ninian spat off to one side in the grass. **"Flying right after eating never sits well with my stomach; I almost threw up on my friend Florina once." **She replied, corking the canteen and stashing it in her pack. Standing up, she followed Kratos into the mines, eyes widening when they came across the severely damaged guard system. **"... Please tell me that a person or a group of people caused this sort of damage and not a monster." **She stated, to which Kratos nodded, although he too looked about warily as they passed through the doorway, his hand clenched tight on Flamberge's hilt.

A noise coming at them both from above made Kratos draw the sword and swing it, cleaving a bat into two burning halves as Ninian screamed and ducked away from three more, staring at the strange monsters with wide eyes. **"Where did those things come from!?" **She gasped, getting back on her feet. Kratos looked at her, startled to see that she was completely fine with jumping around on uneven ground, dodging and tumbling away from the bats as they dive bombed her. **"Get ... away from me!!!" **Finally shouting, Ninian swung at one, and Kratos could feel her mana surge with the motion. While Ninian's fist didn't hit the bat, a wave of ice shot forth and impaled the beast, killing it.

Ninian and Kratos both stared at the dead bat, and then at one another. **"I did not know I could do that without the stone ..." **Ninian stammered, her eyes wide.

**"There's more mana here for you to draw on than back on your home world." **Kratos responded, and then pulled her behind him as the remaining two bats dove at her again. **"Stay behind me and concentrate on getting rid of these annoyances. I'll take one and you take the other, deal?"**

**"D - deal." **Ninian nodded, her eyes locking onto the bat far to the right. Putting her concerns about Kratos aside, she tried to remember the feeling she had felt just as she had managed to kill the first bat. A swirl of energy filled her, threatening to spill out and envelop everything in front of her, like it usually did when she used her powers. **'No, I can't do that; Kratos would be caught in the blast as well.' **Ninian told herself, trying to fight her instincts and force her power to work under her control. It seemed to work, as the bat she was aiming at was caught in a slap of cold air, freezing its wings and making it plummet to the lowest level of the mines, where the wings shattered, killing the beast.

"**That was impressive." **Kratos spoke quietly, the bat he had been attacking burnt to a crisp. When he stepped towards Ninian, however, he began to feel cold, even through his numbed sense of touch. Stepping back, he allowed his mana to flow out, and was startled to find that Ninian's aura had formed a dome around her, creating a sort of shield around her that froze anything that came too close; there was already ice forming on the ground around her. Ninian seemed to notice this, as the shield retracted to just under her skin, making Kratos blink. 'She can control her defenses much better than her attacks. And with that sort of defense, she wouldn't need any sort of weapon training, especially if she was with a large group of people who _were_ trained in weaponry.'

Once he was certain he could approach Ninian without dying from the cold, Kratos did so, placing a hand on her shoulder. **"Let's go; we need to get the inhibitor ore and get out of here as quickly as is possible." **He stated, to which Ninian looked at him and nodded, although there was a question evident in her expression. Figuring it was about the inhibitor ore, Kratos explained, **"The aura that the Dragonstone is letting off would draw unwanted attention. You could still use the stone, but it won't be a beacon to the angels."**

"**What is it with this world and angels?" **Ninian asked, to which Kratos sighed and shook his head, not certain that telling Ninian would be the best thing to do right now. Walking ahead of the young dragon, he didn't say another word on the subject, to which Ninian huffed in exasperation and followed behind him, still jogging over the uneven ground without twisting an ankle. Kratos noted such, but didn't comment, not even when Ninian sighed. **"It's so dark down here …" **She murmured.

Kratos, about to counter her statement, stopped the moment his mouth started to shape the words he needed; he was an angel, so his eyesight wasn't bothered by the gloom around them. While Ninian was a dragon, her aura alone gave her away as one, her eyesight still wasn't as good as the Seraph's. With a resigned sigh, Kratos held up his hand, a pale blue will 'o the wisp forming over his hand. As the ghostly flame bobbed around Ninian's head, Kratos commented, **"That should also make it easier for me to keep an eye on you; I have a bad feeling that you might try and wander off without telling me." **'Goodness knows Aenir was horrible at that.' Kratos thought to himself, ignoring Ninian's muttering.

The two walked on in silence for a good long while, avoiding more bats and the occasional golems that wandered towards them. If the monsters grew too numerous, however, Ninian would cling to Kratos and project her aura shield around the both of them, making Kratos curious as to just how old Ninian really was; this sort of control took years to achieve, even though it was still far from perfect. He didn't ask her, however, his attention more focused on finding the inhibitor ore.

Finding several dilapidated crates, Kratos held up a hand to stop Ninian and knelt in front of them. **"These might have what we're looking for." **He stated quietly, opening one of the crates and looking around in it. **"Stay put or come help, I don't care which." **Kratos spoke over his shoulder, throwing aside the empty crate as he opened up another one. Within fifteen minutes he had gone through only half of the crates, and still hadn't found any trace of inhibitor ore.

Ninian, bored, wandered off from where Kratos was digging around in the remaining crates, looking around the large mine with wide eyes as she tried to find something to occupy her while still keeping her auburn companion in sight. **"The air's so damp down here …" **She told herself, rubbing her arms as she continued to walk, the will 'o the wisp that Kratos had conjured up earlier following her at eye level. **"No wonder there are so many horror stories about mines; this place gives me the chills." **Stopping to stare at the will 'o the wisp, Ninian finally sighed and smothered it with a burst of cold air **"You're not helping my state of mind," **she muttered before continuing to walk, noticing with interest that the lighting was much better in this part of the mines.

Walking out onto a narrow passage, Ninian looked down; there was a walkway about five feet beneath the lowest part of the walkway, so it wouldn't hurt too much if she slipped and fell. Looking on the other side of the passage, Ninian's face lit up. **"Kratos, there's more crates over this way." **She called back over her shoulder, only to blink when no grunt of response came. **"That grump … I guess I'll go and look on my own then." **Stepping out onto the thin walkway, Ninian moved quickly, trying not to lose her balance as the rocks beneath her feet grew more worn and unsteady beneath her feet.

It wasn't until she was in the middle of the walkway that Ninian saw the bats flying at her. Instinctively trying to move faster, she let her aura come out around her, hoping that the radius was large enough to keep the bats from dive bombing her. She neglected to watch her feet, however, and the next place her foot hit wasn't stable, and the rocks gave out beneath her. Letting out a frightened yelp, Ninian fell to the side, unable to regain her balance before falling off the walkway. Closing her eyes, Ninian braced herself for the impending pain of slamming into solid stone from five feet in the air.

"Oomph!" Ninian's eyes shot wide open as she crashed into what was clearly another person, knocking them both to the ground with a thud. Planting her hands on either side of her body, Ninian pushed herself up just enough to see who she had been rude enough to fall on. Two very startled ice blue eyes met her red ones as the person beneath her asked, "Are you alright there, miss?"

"**Ahhh … I'm sorry?"** Ninian replied tentatively, not understanding a word of what was just said to her. **"I didn't hurt you, did I?"** Sitting up, she managed to get off of the male she had fallen on top of, brushing off her skirt as he sat up and pushed himself onto his feet, clearly as confused by her speech as she was by his. It wasn't until he was standing straight that Ninian realized how tall he was in comparison to her.

Regal stared at the girl in front of him, attempting to ignore the ache in his back that came from someone slamming into him from up in the air. He had not understood anything she had just told him, but her voice seemed to be concerned and apologetic, so it wasn't too hard for him to guess at what she was asking. "I'm fine, but what about you? You're the one that fell from high up." Ninian simply blinked at him, confused. Regal sweatdropped and studied the young woman in front of him.

She was a slim thing, ice blue hair cut raggedly at shoulder length. Her clothing wasn't anything too unusual, simply a long blue jacket trimmed in red over a black vest/shirt top and a black skirt. Light blue and red gloves covered her arms, and black boots covered her legs. 'It's unlikely she came alone; her companion might be looking for her.' Regal reasoned with himself. 'She does seem scared and lost, however.' "Is there any way I can help you out, miss?" Ninian face was still twisted in confusion, and she was about to respond when another voice came from behind them both.

"Hey, Regal, what's going on back here?" Lloyd asked as he and the others arrived, making Regal and Ninian turn to face them. Upon seeing the newcomer, Lloyd gaped and stared at her. "Who's that?" Regal opened his mouth, as if to respond, and then turned to Ninian, whose expression had changed from confusion to utterly lost. When Regal turned to look at her, she returned his confused gaze, blinking rapidly.

"I don't know; she fell on me, and I haven't been able to ask her for her name yet." Regal admitted, looking at the others again. "She started talking to me in a completely different language, and she doesn't seem to understand a word of what I've been saying to her. In all fairness, I don't understand what she's telling me, either." Ninian chose that moment to speak up, pointing at Lloyd with a startled exclamation.

"**You … you look like Kratos!" **She stammered, eyes wide. **"Wha … how … Are you two related?! ... Oh, drat, Kratos! He's going to be angry that I wandered off … oh no …" **Ninian buried her face in her hands as she moaned, her entire little rant making the entire group stare at her in shock; this girl knew Kratos?

Raine was the first to recover, and she studied the girl for a moment, and then looked at Lloyd. "Judging by the way she was pointing at you when she was talking, she probably thinks that there's a connection between you Kratos." She summarized, eyebrows furrowed. "She speaks a very old language though; I only know broken bits of it myself."

"What did you understand though, sis?" Genis asked, looking at Ninian in worry. "For all we know, Cruxis might be hunting her and she's running away from Kratos."

"No ... I think she _is_ traveling with him, but she might not be with Cruxis ... Wait, I'll try and ask her." Raine shook her head, approaching Ninian and placing a hand on her shoulder. **"You are?" **She asked simply, not shocked when Ninian's head lifted out of her hands in shock.

**"Your accent is worse than Kratos'." **Ninian stated flatly, making Raine sweatdrop.

**"I'm not good at this." **She admitted, although it was a blow to her pride to admit it; so few people spoke this language that she had felt accomplished for learning how to speak as much of it as she had. Meeting someone who was obviously fluent in it made her feel like she was being lazy in her studies, and Raine decided to study it more if they could keep Ninian in their group. **"Not many people speak it." **

**"Ah." **Ninian nodded in understanding. She didn't seem to mind the accent though, so Raine simply assumed it was just odd for her to hear her language spoken the way Raine was saying it.

Pushing those thoughts out of her head, Raine asked, **"Regardless, name?" **

**"Oh!" **Ninian's expression went from confused to a serene smile, startling everyone; the expression was completely different than what they had been expecting. **"My name is Ninian Eira. I was traveling with Kratos to find something called inhibitor ore, and ... well, I wandered off." **Looking down at the floor in embarrassment, Ninian waited for the group's response.

Raine nodded and turned to the others. "I assume we all got her name, right?" she asked, to which the group nodded. "Now, from what I managed to understand, she and Kratos are apparently looking for inhibitor ore, and she got separated from him."

"Why would Kratos be looking for inhibitor ore?" Colette asked, curious. Raine shrugged, and the entire group looked at Ninian again. "Should we keep her with us until we run into Kratos then? It wouldn't be fair for us to just leave her here." Colette walked up to Ninian and held out a hand, giggling. "Hi; I'm Colette, it's nice to meet you!" She chirruped, to which Ninian blinked and stared, slowly taking the offered hand.

"Colette, sweetie, that might not be safe; what if Kratos tries to kidnap you when we bring him his pretty little Ninian?" Zelos piped up, worry written over his face. "For all we know, the whole looking for inhibitor ore story she's told us might be just a ploy for Cruxis to get its hands on you again."

"She doesn't seem like the type of person to do that." Sheena countered. "... But now that I think about it, that might be true; she doesn't speak the same language, so they _could_ use her as a tool, but she wouldn't know that either, so I doubt that's likely."

"Not only that, but Kratos doesn't seem like the type of person to do that." Lloyd pointed out, not knowing why he was sticking up for the Seraph. "Even if Cruxis is after Colette or not, I don't think he'd stoop so low as to take advantage of someone like Ninian and use her to make us drop our guard. He might be a traitor ... but he's got his honor." Lloyd finished with a sigh, looking down towards the bowels of the mines. "Anyway, let's get going; we should find inhibitor ore farther in, right Regal?" He asked the eldest member of his group, who stepped forward and followed Lloyd gaze.

"Yes, we should be close to it." He agreed, and the group, with Ninian in tow, set off. Ninian yelped at first, but didn't resist the surprisingly strong pull from Colette, keeping pace with the group as they trekked along towards their destination. Listening to the babbling voices about her, Ninian relaxed when she realized that the group, despite speaking a completely different language, acted no differently than some of her friends back on Elibe. Looking at Lloyd again, however, Ninian's thoughts began to wander back towards Kratos.

'**He looks so similar to Kratos, almost too similar.' **She decided after a while, remembering that the group had addressed him as 'Lloyd'. **'I can't be certain of it though, not right now. Ow! This girl doesn't know her own strength, does she?'** Ninian winced as Colette tugged harder than before on her arm; digging her heels into the ground, she managed to work her arm free. Colette, startled, stopped, a worried expression coming onto her face when she saw that Ninian was rubbing her arm like it had been hurt.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" She apologized, wringing her hands in worry. Her statement made Regal and the redhead – whose name Ninian had yet to catch – stop and look back at them, confused. "I didn't mean to hurt you, oh, are you okay?" Ninian blinked, startled, before collapsing into a fit of giggles; this girl was too much like Brother Lucius! It was the same worried expression the monk had always worn, the same hair style (and color, for that matter), similar habits, and the same voice.

"**I'm fine … I'm fine." **Ninian reassured her after a moment, still giggling somewhat. Shaking her head, she tried to bite away the last of her giggles. **"You just … one of my friends, he would react like that every time his companion got hurt … you just reminded me of that." **Drawing a breath, Ninian shook her head, blushing suddenly when she realized everyone had stopped to stare at her. Completely embarrassed, she squeaked and looked at the ground, her face burning bright red.

"Well, well, it seems this pretty hunny's shy." Zelos chuckled, smirking. "Pretty, shy, and a sweetheart, that's a pretty rare combination these days. No offense, Colette." Zelos smiled at his fellow Chosen, who smiled back.

"Yeah, she is pretty, isn't she?" She smiled at Ninian, who still looked mortally embarrassed. Turning around, though, she saw the mildly impatient look on Lloyd's face. "OH, sorry Lloyd; we're coming." Colette apologized again, jogging along. Ninian looked up and followed a few feet behind the others, trying to keep herself as inconspicuous as possible, and instead listened intently to what the others were saying; she was obviously going to be stuck on this world for a while, so she might as well try to learn the way people spoke here. And what better way to start than with names, she decided, looking the group over.

'**The one that looks like a young Kratos is Lloyd.'** Ninian noted, noticing with interest that Lloyd also kept his left hand on one of his swords. **'I'm definitely going to have to pester Kratos about him when I next run into him. The one I fell on is Regal …' **Looking at the tall male, Ninian felt slightly guilty for her fall; even if he didn't act it, she could tell that Regal was more than likely going to have a sore back for the next few days. **'… I think that the redhead is named Zelos … or at least, that's what the black haired girl shouted when she slapped him. And Brother Lucius' lookalike is Colette. I haven't caught anyone else's names yet.' **

Realizing that she had fallen slightly behind everyone else, Ninian jogged to keep up, eventually coming alongside Regal. As she barely came up to his shoulder, Ninian felt rather small against him, though nowhere nearly as small as when she was beside Hector. **"Ummm … is your back okay?" **She asked once he looked at her, patting her back to try and transfer her words.

Regal stared at her for a moment, as if confused, but nodded once he understood Ninian's question. "It hurts, but I've been through worse. Don't trouble yourself over it." He reassured her, nodding his head. Ninian seemed to understand, but her face still remained apologetic. Regal sighed, and was about to try and get her to relax when Lloyd let out a strangled shout.

"How long have you been down here?!" Upon looking, Regal and Ninian saw that it was Kratos who Lloyd was yelling at. Kratos' white Cruxis uniform had dirt and grime on it, and it looked like he'd gotten into a fight with something, if the scrapes across his face were anything to go by. Ninian gulped and hid behind Regal, not wanting Kratos to catch sight of her just yet.

Upon hearing Lloyd shout at him, Kratos looked up from where he was sitting, startled to see the group of them there already. Standing up, he placed a hand on his sword and turned to face the group, his face impassive. "… So you all managed to get down here safely." He stated, looking around the group. "By any chance, did you happen to run into a girl with ice blue hair and red eyes? I told her not to wander –" Kratos cut himself off, and then glanced at Regal, brows furrowing. **"Alright, I know you're back there." **He stated, making the group stare at him from shock as Ninian's head poked out from behind Regal.

"**If you knew where I was, why did you bother asking about me in the first place?" **She asked, to which Kratos rolled his eyes with a sigh. **"I don't have the slightest idea of what this ore we're looking for looks like, so what use could I be while you seemed perfectly content to dig through crates all day."**

"**That did not mean you had permission to wander off." **Kratos countered, and by this point, the entire group was looking between Kratos and Ninian, awed at the speed that the two were bickering in a foreign language. **"And what happened to that light? I would have been able to find you faster if you had kept that thing with you."**

"**It was unnerving me! By Father Sky, we're in a **_**mine!**_** Do you know how many horror stories are floating around because of mines?!" **Ninian accused. **"For that matter, how far down in the ground are we?!"**

"**That isn't important."**

"**Well, whatever you have up your rear, can you please –"**

"_Both of you shut up!"_ Lloyd had seemed frustrated throughout the entire argument, but hearing him yell out in Dwarvish was not something anyone else had been expecting. Genis and Colette were the least surprised by the outburst, as they knew Dirk had somehow managed to teach Lloyd Dwarvish alongside the Dwarven Vows, and they had often heard the two yelling at one another in it when visiting. Everyone else, however, seemed stunned, including Kratos, if his expression was anything to go by.

Sighing in vexation, Lloyd rubbed his forehead and asked, "Alright, Kratos, why are you down here looking for inhibitor ore? While we might not have been able to talk with Ninian, she mentioned you and inhibitor ore. Does she have an Exsphere or something that needs a Key Crest or what?" Kratos tensed, but eventually sighed and looked at the group.

Opening his mouth to explain what was going on, he was cut off as Ninian's eyes went wide, and without warning, pulled Regal and Sheena – the two closest to her – to the ground as something that looked very similar to acid shot towards them. **"Get down!" **She shouted, eyes darting around, obviously looking for something. Kratos turned to her, and was about to demand she explain herself when his eyes caught sight of something large and hairy came towards them all. Not thinking fully, he lunged forward and knocked Lloyd to the ground just as the foot crashed down nearby, and a shrill noise rang in the air as a spider that was easily three times Regal's size clambered out of the abyss and loomed over them.  


* * *

_  
__The Baels and Elder Baels were some of my favorite monsters in Sacred Stones, can't you tell? XD_

_And as for why I'm comparing everything height-wise to Regal, he's the tallest one in the group at 6'2". Kratos is next at 6'1", so I probably could use him, but meh._

_Someone please tell me I'm not the only one who wondered about Lloyd being able to speak Dwarvish … he was raised by a dwarf, it made sense to me … _

_Review, please~_


	4. Regroup

**Chapter Four: Regroup  
**

* * *

It wasn't exactly common knowledge that Colette was scared of spiders, but even that went out the window as the huge spider lunged towards her. Letting out the closest thing to a scream that she could manage, she flung herself away from it, hiding behind some of the few upright crates, whimpering. Genis looked at her in worry. "Colette, are you okay?" He asked, although his knees were shaking at the sight of the monster in front of them. Colette looked at him, and then at the spider again with a whimper. Genis stared at her, shocked; Colette, who hadn't been afraid to lose her life to save her friends, was afraid of spiders? Then again … Genis couldn't blame her for it under their current circumstance. Who _wouldn't _be afraid of a giant spider that was more than likely venomous?

"Regal … please tell me that you didn't know that there was a Bael living here." Raine commented from where she stood, close to the waterfall. Regal, who was standing up from where Ninian had pulled him and Sheena down, looked at her and shook his head, eyeing the Bael with something akin to amazed wonder.

"I didn't know something like this even _existed_ on this world." He replied after a moment, Sheena and Ninian standing up beside him. "But I do know that I, at least, never heard any reports about a giant spider living in the deep parts of the mine. It might have come up from the passageway to Moria, for all I know." Ninian, although she didn't understand a word of what was being said, knew very well that the group was frightened by the monster in front of them. It was then that Zelos swore loudly.

"That thing's between us and those two!" He pointed, and everyone else whipped around to see what he was talking about, only to feel a new shockwave of fear shoot through them; the spider had somehow managed to wedge itself between the rest of them and Lloyd, who was still being pinned to the ground by Kratos, but the elder let go of him as they all watched.

Kratos was on his knees, Lloyd sitting up beside him. Both of them were in the Bale's sights, and it seemed to be more focused on them than anyone else in the group. Glancing at the Seraph, Lloyd asked quietly, "How much are you willing to bet this thing eats people for breakfast?" Kratos gave him a mild glare, as if asking him what possessed him to ask that. Seeing the look, Lloyd jabbed his thumb at the Bael, and although his gaze never left it, he began to scoot backwards towards the far wall, knowing that going towards the others would be suicide.

Kratos followed suit, both of them eyeing the monster warily. "No … sudden … movements …" Kratos hissed in a strained voice, to which Lloyd nodded subtly. The Bael swung its head between the two of them, but its gaze locked on Lloyd the instant he moved. Kratos, puzzled, looked at Lloyd before swearing; it was probably reacting to the red. "Take off your jacket, it makes you noticeable!" Kratos hissed, tugging at his son's arm.

"That thing might not be able to see in color!" Lloyd hissed in return, eyes flashing. "Besides, you're wearing white! You probably stand out as much as I do!"

"If it does see in color, yes, I do, but white is a lot less noticeable down here than red. If it does see in black and white, then I'm more than likely the same color as the wall! Just … take off the damn jacket!"

"But you said no sudden movements!"

"Then take it off slowly, but just get rid of it!"

"… Do I _want _to know what they're arguing about over there?" Raine asked weakly, sweatdropping as she watched Lloyd and Kratos argue with one another, although both of them were keeping their gaze on the Bael , which seemed to be getting closer to the two no matter how far away they moved.

Sheena, seemingly fed up, held up a summoning card, and turned to the waterfall. 'Good, that'll make it easier.' "Undine, help them out!" she called, throwing the card at the waterfall. With a loud explosion, the spirit of water sprang out of the waterfall, a blade of water flashing through the air as she aimed at the Bael.

Furious at the sudden attack, the spider whipped around with a screech, one of its eight legs knocking Kratos into Lloyd again, sending both of them to the ground with a shout. Now that the spider's attention was diverted, they both got up and bolted away, making the Bael whip around again, one of its feet aiming at Lloyd as if to pin him. While it didn't catch Lloyd exactly, it caught the two white ribbons that hung around his neck, making him jerk backwards with a strangled yelp.

"Lloyd!" Kratos turned on a dime and lunged at the spider, the thought about possibly blowing his cover fleeing from his mind as Flamberge cleared its scabbard to leave a burning gouge on the Bael's leg, biting deep. Screeching in pain, the Bael released the coughing Lloyd, who was rubbing his neck from the pain of nearly being strangled. "Are you alright?" Kratos asked, reaching out to support Lloyd as he coughed more.

Lloyd looked at Kratos, his eyes wary. "I'm fine ... thanks for helping me." He responded, unnerved by the worry that he could see in the Seraph's eyes. "Why _are_ you so concerned about me anyway? Aren't we supposed to be enemies?" Kratos opened his mouth, as if to respond, but the words caught in his throat, which only served to make Lloyd even more suspicious. "What are you hiding ...?" Lloyd asked, not meeting Kratos' eyes.

Kratos flinched, wishing for once that Lloyd wouldn't be so good at noticing things that were off when it was least convenient. "I ..." Kratos began, but the Bael's next shriek brought them both to look at it; while they had been talking, the others had all sprung in to attack, even Ninian in her own way. If her stance was anything, she was casting some sort of spell.

**"Mother of the northern snow, protect these warriors with your divine shield. Nini's Grace!" **Ninian wished she could do more than support from behind the lines, but it would be best to play it safe for now. To her relief, the spell didn't just wrap around the seven that had been fighting the monster from the start, but also wrapped around Lloyd and Kratos as they leapt into the fray. When Raine and Genis retreated to cast their own spells, Ninian stood between them and flung out her aura, making certain to note that they were supposed to be there.

Raine noticed the sudden drop in temperature immediately, not because she was affected by it, but because of the ice that started to form over the rocks. Glancing at Ninian, she saw that the newcomer was panting slightly from exertion. 'Is she an elemental half-elf?' She wondered, part of her mind casting the Nurse spell on her allies as she warily watched the newcomer. 'She hasn't done anything wrong yet, but something about her just doesn't seem to fit in here.' Diverting her attention back to the Bael as Genis' Thunder Blade spell hit it, she pulled out a magic lens and held it up to her staff to examine the monster.

"Be careful not to get bitten! This monster has powerful venom in its system." She called out, only to wince as Zelos rolled away from the Bael as it's mouth came down towards him. Although the fangs hadn't pierced his skin, it had torn the elder Chosen's pants down the side, making him swear quite loudly and hit the Bael with his sword. Not taking kindly to the slap, the Bael struck out with one of its many legs, only to overshoot and hit the cold shield Ninian had projected. Frost and ice coated onto the hair, and as soon as the claw hit the icy ground inside the shield, the chill raced up the whole leg, but stopped short when the Bale wrenched away from the cold and attacked the others, only to lose another one of its legs to Colette's Angel Feathers attack.

The blood that spurted out of the wound was acid green in color and reeked something horrible. As the Bael screamed and stumbled about with two legs out of commission, Lloyd and Kratos attacked the leg closest to them in order to cripple the beast more. Shrieking, it tried to whip around and get the two males again, this time managing to land a direct hit on Lloyd, pushing him down to the ground with a hairy, four clawed foot splayed across his chest.

Lloyd cried out, feeling a couple of his ribs crack. Despite not having any bones in its body, the Bael was heavy, and it seemed content to squish him. Shoving against the leg that was pressing down against him, Lloyd felt his vision go blurry as he came closer to passing out, the strength in his arms leaving him. "Get … off …" He was in serious pain, and even though the Bael was also fighting with the others as it tried to crush him, Lloyd could feel the ribs that had been cracked before slowly breaking under the strain, making him cry out.

Kratos had been knocked away by the swinging legs, and by the time he was able to get his feet back under him, his eyes began to search for Lloyd. When he saw the predicament his son was in and heard him crying out in pain, something inside him snapped. Lunging, Kratos felt his sanity flee him as he rammed into the leg pinning Lloyd down, satisfied when the momentum managed to knock the Bael off of the nearly unconscious Lloyd. Slashing at the leg with Flamberge, Kratos scrambled back over to Lloyd. "Lloyd! Wake up!" He hissed, worry leaking into his voice in spite of himself.

Lloyd began to cough weakly, tasting blood in his mouth. "Ow … that thing got me good." He spat off to one side, wiping his mouth with the back of one hand. "Damn, that actually hurt a lot." Sitting up, Lloyd let himself lean on Kratos as the elder male cast First Aid on his wounds in conjunction with Raine's Nurse spell. Lloyd looked up at Kratos, a weak smile on his face. "Thanks, I …" He began, only to be cut off as the Bael let out a final shriek and lunged at Ninian, fangs raised.

Instead of attacking, she flipped backwards, landing upright as the Bael's fangs impaled themselves into the stone where she had once been. **"Stay away from me!" **She shouted at it, a wave of icicles flying at the Bael from her area to strike the beast in the torso. Rising up, shrieking in pain, the Bael was left open for the rest of the gang to attack it, which promptly happened in a rush of movement. When Raine and Genis finished it off with a Holy Lance/Freeze Lancer combination, the Bael let out a last, infuriated scream before plummeting over the edge of the cliff, its remaining legs flailing in death throes.

Stilling, the group looked at one another, and then at the crates that had been broken in their fight. Several lumps of greyish-black ore had fallen out of the crates, making the still injured Lloyd grinned. "That's inhibitor ore then." He stated. "Let's get it an – Ow!" Lloyd hissed as his attempt to stand ended in pain, clutching at his injured ribs. Kratos winced and lifted him, despite Lloyd's protests.

"We should get you out of the mines first; there's a greater chance that another spider like that will come out." He stated, and then turned to the others. The only one who didn't seem any bit unnerved by the way he was interacting with Lloyd was Ninian, who was busy holding up a lump of inhibitor ore and examining it. Even Colette, who never wished an ill thought on anyone, gave him a nervous look. "It isn't wise to wander around with cracked ribs, and we'd more than likely run into a few monsters along the way." Kratos stated, letting a very disgruntled Lloyd clamber onto his back.

Even with that statement, Kratos could feel Lloyd's friends eyeing him warily as they quickly left the mines, even as Lloyd fell asleep on his shoulder. The feeling sent a confused wave of pain through Kratos; he'd missed this sort of moment so badly, but he had to at least pretend to work with Yggdrasil if he wanted to find the pieces needed for Lloyd to wield the Eternal Sword … Sighing, he shook his head and decided not to think about it for the moment as the group got into the EC that was moored at the dock.

"**You're related to him, aren't you?" **Ninian's question made Kratos jerk to look at her in shock. The ice haired girl was giving him a studious look, one that made Kratos wonder how long she had known. Toying with a strand of her hair as she settled into her seat, she glanced around at Lloyd's friends before commenting, **"Don't try and deny it; only a blind fool wouldn't be able to see that he bears you a great resemblance." **Lloyd mumbled something in his sleep, face nuzzling against Kratos' shoulder, making the angel look at him tenderly. **"And I doubt you'd let anyone else do that and get away with it." **Ninian sniggered behind her hand, making Kratos give her a pointed glare.

"**Your commentary is not necessary." **He stated, settling down. Even though he had went to let go of Lloyd earlier, the injured swordsman still clung to his back. Sighing, Kratos glanced around. "Raine, can you attend to Lloyd's ribs?" He asked, drawing the healer's attention. Standing up, she walked over to the three, giving Kratos a suspicious glance.

"Lloyd has to get off of your back first." She pointed out, going to pull Lloyd from Kratos' shoulders. The younger swordsman shook his head, his grip on Kratos tightening enough to make Ninian giggle in amusement. Kratos gave her a dry look and muttered something in odd language Ninain spoke. Raine listened as the two bickered, still trying to pry Lloyd off of Kratos' shoulders, understanding only bits and pieces of it.

"**You're obviously related." **Ninian giggled under her breath, eyes dancing. Kratos simply glowered at her. **"What? You have yet to deny it when I say that you are, Lloyd looks like a younger version of you, he's clinging to your back like his life depends on it and you're not even complaining about it!" **Sniggering more, she added, **"The only other explanation I could come up with is that you're romantically interested in him …" **Upon seeing Kratos' expression , Ninian burst out into hysterical laugher, making everyone else turn to look at them.

The noise also woke Lloyd, who blinked groggily and lifted his head from where it had rested. "Did I miss something ...?" He asked, voice groggy. This only seemed to make Ninian laugh more, clutching her sides in agony as she struggled to regain her breathing. "Is Ninian okay?" Lloyd asked, looking at her in concern.

"She's fine, Lloyd; now let go of Kratos so I can take care of your ribs." Raine stated, tugging at Lloyd's arm. As if he had just realized that he had been clinging to Kratos' back, Lloyd released his grip and let Raine examine his injuries without protest, although he continuously glanced at Kratos the entire time. If Kratos himself noticed it, he didn't comment on it, choosing instead to stare out the window of the EC as they sped back towards Ozette, planning on getting the dwarf Altessa to repair a Key Crest for them.

Once again, Kratos found himself conflicted; he wanted so badly to rejoin Lloyd's group, but he needed to find the rest of the pieces for the Eternal Ring … Of course, he had Ninian with him. He supposed she could travel with Lloyd and his group while he went off on his own, but Ninian understood none of the language that was being spoken around her, and he didn't like to think about leaving her alone and almost defenseless. Sighing, Kratos leaned against the wall of the EC and closed his eyes, wondering how he was going to get himself out of the mess he was in.

* * *

It was too dark to continue on to Ozette when the group reached the mainland, resulting in the group camping out once again. Kratos sat on the edge of the group, not even trying to integrate himself into the little circle around the fire, instead opting to stare out at the water. Ninian had already nestled herself into their number, and was busy trying to learn the names of everyone else while they all ate.

"Hey." Kratos looked up as Lloyd walked over to him, a plate of food in his hand. "Do you … want to eat something?" He asked, sitting down beside the Seraph. Kratos gave the plate a glance, but didn't take it. Sighing, Lloyd placed the plate on the ground between them, his own gaze turning to the stars that danced over the ocean before them. "… Thanks, for earlier." Lloyd stated after a moment, making Kratos look at him again in confusion. "When the spider was trying to crush me, you … well … you could've just let it kill me, but you didn't." Lloyd explained, looking away from the stars to meet Kratos' eyes for a moment. Kratos met his gaze only for a moment before looking away, mouth partially open as if he was going to say something.

Dammit, he was in a situation that he would not be able to get fully out of. Kratos sighed and shook his head, not knowing how to explain things to Lloyd so near to everyone else. "I try to save as many lives as I can, even if it is the life of an enemy." He finally stated, looking at the grass beneath his feet.

"Bullshit." Lloyd snapped, making Kratos' head jerk up, mouth opening as if to scold Lloyd when he saw the look on his son's face. "If you believed in that way of thinking, why do you work with Cruxis?" He demanded under his breath, doing his best not to draw the attention of the others. It didn't seem to be necessary, as both Zelos and Colette had let out a scream of 'so cute!' and threw their arms around Ninian in a tight hug; apparently she had an accent. All of these thoughts passed through Kratos' heads in a heartbeat as Lloyd leaned in closer to him. "What are you hiding from me?"

Kratos looked away again, cursing himself. How could he let Lloyd know _now?_ 'I should have stayed with them all …' Standing, he walked off into the forest. Like he had hoped, Lloyd had let out an indignant noise before getting to his feet to follow Kratos. Kratos didn't look over his shoulder at all until Lloyd was right behind him. "Do you really want to know …?" He asked when they were far enough into the woods that the others wouldn't overhear them, but they were still close enough to the others in case trouble came along.

"Yes." Lloyd responded evenly, staring at Kratos with an unrelenting gaze. "It's not the first time you've done something odd either, otherwise I wouldn't worry about it." He stated, stepping closer to Kratos as the elder subtly reached up with his arms to rub the sides of his face. Lloyd glowered. "You were holding back against me; if you really were my enemy, you wouldn't do that." He stated.

"How do you know that with such certainty?" Kratos countered, using his position to his advantage as he undid the clasp to the locket he wore. Lloyd didn't flinch at the question, but he didn't respond until Kratos was meeting his eyes again.

"You have honor." He stated simply, making Kratos flinch in spite of himself. Seeing that he'd found a weak spot, Lloyd dug into it. "That makes me wonder even more if you really work for Cruxis; what the hell do you think would come from humans being killed? You were human, weren't you? How can you stand knowing what happens to the humans in the Desian ranches."

"I can't." Kratos responded, voice gaining a stern tone. Most other people would have figured out that they were treading into dangerous territory, but with Lloyd, it didn't seem to register. If it did register, Lloyd seemed to figure it was worth the risk if he could get Kratos to explain himself. "Why are you so eager to find out what side I'm on? I nearly killed you and your friends."

"Because I don't want to believe you really are our enemy." Lloyd finally whispered, looking down at the ground. "I … I don't want to accept that, dammit! I … I mean …" Lloyd glanced up at Kratos as he continued to speak. "You helped us – helped me – so much during the trip … you're helping Ninian get around, and … and …" Kratos watched as Lloyd shook his head in confusion, hands rubbing the sides of his face in confusion. A pang of pity went through the Seraph, and eventually he stepped forward with a sigh, gripping Lloyd's closest wrist.

Ignoring the yelp he got, Kratos pulled the hand towards him and stared at it; it was Lloyd's left hand, and the Exsphere that he wore on it glowed brightly as Kratos stared at it. "It seems that I can't run away from it anymore …" He whispered, more to the stone and himself than to Lloyd. Turning the hand over, he lifted his other hand over it and pressed the locket into Lloyd's palm. "I'm sorry, but I can't think of another way to explain myself." He stated when Lloyd gave him a confused look. Backing up, Kratos stood a good distance off as Lloyd looked between him and the locket for a moment.

Confused, Lloyd opened the locket, staring at the picture that was inside. There stood Kratos, his arms wrapped tightly around a young woman, both of them smiling. A young child, perhaps only a few years old or so, was sitting on Kratos' shoulders, grinning at them both as he dug his hands into the seraph's wild auburn hair. 'Wait …' Lloyd blinked and looked at the child again. "That looks like … me …" He whispered, looking up in confusion.

"It … is." Kratos choked out, eyes focused on the ground in front of him. He couldn't look at Lloyd's face anymore, too afraid of what he might see in his son's eyes. "I … I'm your …" it was even harder to say now, it seemed. "I'm … your father." Daring to look up, Kratos felt his stomach twist in knots as Lloyd look at him in shock , horror and disbelief written on his face. Worried, Kratos stepped towards him. "Lloyd …!!" Reaching out, he flinched and raised an arm to catch the locket as Lloyd threw it at him before turning and running away. "Lloyd!" Tucking the locket into his pant's pocket, Kratos took off after him.

* * *

Back at the campfire, Ninian looked at the two who had proceeded to wrap their arms around her in a tight hug. **"Eh … eh?!" **She squeaked, not understanding why they had reacted like that to her trying to ask for more food. **"Did I say something wrong?" **She asked, confused, blushing when she saw that Raine, Sheena and Genis were trying hard not to laugh. Squirming, Ninian managed to get her arms out of the hold Colette and Zelos had on her, extending her plate towards Genis. "More … please?" She asked, which only made Colette and Zelos squeal and hug her tighter.

Genis laughed, but he took the plate and refilled it with food. "Ignore them; I don't think Zelos has learned the meaning of the word 'personal bubble yet'." Genis reassured Ninian, handing her the refilled plate. Ninian nodded with a smile, taking the plate and eating daintily as the others continued to talk amongst themselves.

She liked the sound of the language, even if she couldn't speak it herself. Smiling, she continued to eat up until Regal spoke. "… Where have Lloyd and Kratos gotten off to?" Although the only things that registered were the names, Ninian looked up at the same time as everyone else, and was shocked to see that the place where both men had been sitting was completely vacated save for the plate of food Lloyd had carried over with him.

"**Maybe they went on a walk?" **She offered, confused.** "Or perhaps one of them went to the bathroom?" **Raine had a scowl across her face, and she was about to give her input on things when a screech cut through the evening air. Ninian looked towards the sky over the forest, her fork hanging out of her mouth. **"That sounded like a couple of dragons out hunting." **She stated, sighing and continuing to eat. **"Figures, younglings always like to go out and hunt at nighttime …" **Ninian's voice tapered off, and she caught sight of two dragons flying over the forest, seemingly following something.

"Do those dragons normally live around this part of Tethe'alla, Sheena?" Colette asked Sheena, who studied the reptiles for a moment before shaking her head. A second later, she was up on her feet, cursing as she pulled out another seal card, calling the Sylph to her.

"Go follow those dragons; those look like the ones that eat people!" Sending the dragons a worried look, Sheena turned to the wind spirits. "Lloyd and Kratos might be in danger ..." The Sylph gave one another a look before vanishing in a wink of green wind, only to reappear at the dragons' heels a split second later. Releasing a deep breath, Sheena sat on the ground, tugging at the grass beneath her. Everyone else began to do similar motions, although they were all still nervous; all they could do now was wait.

Setting her food aside, Ninian looked at the dragons for a long moment. **'If those younglings are chasing the other two, then we won't get there in time to help them.' **She realized, wide eyes looking around at the others. Glancing down at her pocket, Ninian felt the hum of her Dragonstone against her thigh. **'... I might have to use it ... I just hope I can keep my head when I do.' **

"Well, we've got good news, bad news, and worse news." Ninian and everyone else jumped up as the Sylph reappeared. Sephie looked at her younger sisters before beginning. "The good news is that we managed to find Lloyd and Kratos; they're both okay, from what we could tell."

"The bad news is that the dragons are after them." Yutis added, looking around. Ninian watched the expressions on everyone else's faces; seeing them vary between horror, worry and shock, she figured that it would be good to slip off and transform; her clothes would fall off when she did.

Nobody noticed, because Fairess had decided to put in her last little bit. "And the worst news is that Kratos and Lloyd are coming up on a cliff." Everyone stopped and stared at one another for a long moment before Sheena dismissed the Sylph, who vanished in another burst of green wind.

"We're going to have to get to them, and fast." Zelos stated simply, looking up. "And I can barely see the dragons anymore ... what about you, Colette?" Turning to the other angel, Zelos watched as Colette strained to see the dragons, but eventually she shook her head.

"I can't keep track of them ... hey, where'd Ninian go?" Looking around, Colette's eyebrows rose when she noticed that the elder girl wasn't present. The statement made everyone else turn around to look for her, startled. "Maybe she started heading out for where Kratos and Lloyd ar-!!!" Looking up, Colette let out a yelp as something large and blue flew overhead. Looking up as one, the group stared as a large, ice blue dragon shot after the smaller ones, a glowing blue stone dangling around its neck.

Giving one another concerned looks, the group tore off after the dragon, hoping that they weren't too late.

* * *

_Heheheh ... X3 I had fun with this chapter. Sorry if it seems to focus on Lloyd and Kratos a lot, but things are just starting to get complicated ... _

_And there's a reason why Ninian was able to take on her dragon form without any ill effects (or did she?) is because of the fact that there's far more mana on Tethe'alla (hell, there's probably more on Sylvarant at this point) than there was in Elibe for a very long time. IIRC, at the end of Rekka if you get the Eliwood/Ninian ending, Nils will comment on how thin the air was of magic. Assuming that dragons draw on the magic of the world around them to take on dragon form and maintain it for long streches of time, the reason Ninian reacts differently between Elibe and Aselia is because of the sheer amount of energy that she can draw on. _

_Okay, enough of me making excuses. Review, please~!!_


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